‘Game of Thrones’ Hits Series High, John Oliver’s HBO Show Premieres Strong

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” hit a series high in total viewers, while the premiere of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” drew strong ratings on a night with heavy competition.

“Game of Thrones” at 9 p.m. grabbed 6.9 million total viewers — a series best for the show, which is currently in its fourth season. With two more plays factored in, the episode amassed 8.4 million total viewers.

“Last Week,” starring “Daily Show” alum Oliver, premiered to 1.1 million total viewers at 11 p.m., a 51 percent jump over the time period average. With a second airing, “Last Week” accumulated 1.4 million total viewers for the night.

Mike Judge‘s freshman comedy “Silicon Valley” at 10 p.m. had 1.6 million total viewers, even with last week. Over two airings, the show had 1.8 million total viewers — down from last week’s combined 2.2 million viewers.

“Veep” — which, like “Silicon Valley,” was recently renewed — enjoyed a boost over the previous week with its initial 10:30 episode with 922.000 viewers compared to last week. Over multiple airings “Veep” had 1.2 million viewers, compared to 1.3 the previous week.